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Microsoft and its hardware partners have revealed the list of Intel Skylake-based PCs that will lose support after 18 months if the computers are downgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 7 or 8.1. The software giant along with Dell, HP, Lenovo and NEC today outlined a list of 100 PCs that will fall victim to a policy change outlined by Microsoft earlier this month. The company previously said it would support downgrades to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 until January 2020 and January 2023. But on January 16, Microsoft backtracked on its pledge for newer hardware featuring Intel's Skylake processors....

Microsoft just dropped a bombshell. Older versions of Windows will not be supported on the newest chips from Intel and others. The crux of a statement from Terry Myerson, executive vice president at Microsoft, is that new processors won't run older versions of Windows reliably -- and won't be supported. "Going forward, as new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support," Myerson wrote, in a blog post addressed to "enterprise customers," aka, businesses. So, in the future, don't expect to be able to run Windows 7, for example, on the newest...

Microsoft made this totally stupid change to its Windows support policy. With no notice, older versions of Windows lose support on the latest PC hardware. Yep, that's right: You can't run Windows 7 or 8.1 on Skylake CPUs (or later). There's a woolly, limited get-out-of-jail-free card for a short while, but this is just the latest irritating Microsoft scheme to get everyone onto Windows 10. The way it's always been in the past is that enterprises could buy today's hardware, but put their current image on it, only upgrading when it made sense. But with this move, Microsoft changes everything...

Soon, when you buy a new PC, it won't support Windows 7 or 8. Microsoft has announced a change to its support policy that lays out its plans for future updates to its older operating systems, and the new rules mean that future PC owners with next-generation Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm processors will need to use Windows 10. It's not usual for old PCs to fall short of the minimum requirements of a brand new operating system, but in this case, the opposite is happening. Microsoft and its partners will not be putting in the significant work necessary to make...